How long can your dog play B4 he is breathless?

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
How long can your dog play before he gets breathless? My Buddy seems to pant after only aobut 10.... or maybe 15 minutes, of off and on running...not continous running, just off and on short bursts will get Mr. Buddy breathless........sometimes, 10 minutes of even in-the-house romping does it. (well, sometimes even that is kinda vigorous at times..) Buddy does kinda go over to his bed or some kinda slightly 'away' area, like indicating he wants to rest....then, catches his breath after a while, and then, sometimes he is right back at it again. Othertimes, he kinda takes a nap then...

...is this normal?

An Australian shepherd that i dog-sit is very much the same way, about 10 minutes, maybe 15 minutes......the Australian does not stop though, and will keep running around til i really worry about him and make him stop...that dog's vet says the dog is perfectly fine. My Buddy's vet says same thing about Buddy....

SO HOW LONG CAN YOUR DOG PLAY/RUN AROUND BEFORE HE/SHE IS WINDED?
 

CollieMan

Experienced Member
Ellie, a Border Collie, can run for about 10 to 15 minutes I guess before she's looking breathless. Add a few jumps to the mix and it's a much shorter period. But, being a Border Collie, she'll never given in and rest and so I have to stop the play. This is really quite common in BCs.
 

storm22

Experienced Member
i think it panting alot could be a working dog thing, storm quite often pants even just going out the gate(i think more out of antisipation), but hes not breathless, he can go for a run (next to the horse or scooter) for a good 20minutes, going about 10km p/hr

but if hes jumping or cutting, he gets puffed alot faster but he does quite alot of running and agility so hes generally fit for it

koda gets puffed alot faster but i havent done any strenious work as im not pushing her to fast to soon, but she can run with storm loosely for a good 10minutes (we have a place we can go and its fully fenced and my dogs can just run mad in a big paddock)
 

snooks

Experienced Member
Panting can be all excitement just lying still. If during play ur dog is going to lie down I might have the vet check for any abnormalities. Could be a little virus, heart murmur, so not nec bad but worth a check. Mine never willingly stop either so I monitor the temp and color of their tongues. More red-purple means too much exertion. For this breed, if in shape and young it could be hours of running. But bursts are more exerting and temp/humidity is a factor. With all exercise ask a vet about starting slow and being safe and not jumping or running a young dog on hard surfaces (less than 2 yo) before bones are mature.

Panting is not nec breathless but can be. If in doubt ask for an expert opinion from a DVM to be safe.
 

drivingtenacity

New Member
Zena can play and run forever without getting breathless, unless the weather is very warm, and then she'll have to take a rest. Obviously, that's from heat and not fatigue.
Maybe your dog is the same way?
(I know nothing about Border Collies)
 

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
Update! Had Mr. Buddy to the vet, the vet again says Mr. Buddy is healthy in every way.

Here's the good news. A boy in my neighborhood walking his dog had his dog and my Buddy run off leash together in my big fenced-in yard, (what a blast for both dogs, plus both of us humans enjoyed also seeing the dogs so joyful, both can run so so fast) and Buddy ran with his new 'friend' for about an hour (off and on) and looked great. Not breathless, sure, he panted from time to time, but nothing alarming. I guess when he goes a few feet away after 10-15 minutes of houseplay, he is bored..?

but Buddy is so stoked to have "a friend" now!!:dogbiggrin:

...be so glad when winter is over....
 

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
Ha, just found this old thread while looking for another, i'd almost forgotten how bad of shape Buddy was in when we first got him. We now think he mighta been from that notorious Border Colle puppy mill down in Tennessee that made nat'l news some months ago-----where they rescued 108 bedraggled malnousihed dgos who lived in the dark 24/7...
the dogs were never even taken outa their cages, lived in filthy cages a pitch dark barn, the floor of each cage was their own feces mixed with mud, 24/7, year after year....The dog pound we got him from was right by that puppy mill, which had been there for years and years.....*shiver*

Buddy either escaped and ran wild, or, got thrown out for being a trouble maker..who knows..

The dogs, all of htem covered with feces and mud, and weak, skinney and malnourished, when first taken out of the barn into the light, had problems-- after a lifetime in the darkness, they all squinted in the light........

and many could barely walk--- cuz they lived in cages 24/7...they'd never walked...breathtaking.

Edit: Turns out, Buddy was breathless cuz he was still "building up" from his severe, severe malnutrition. He can run like the wind now, and no longer gets breathless.

Chasing his greyhound pal built his stamina and new muscles all up...ha, back then, i didn't realize that is what his breathlessness was from, just plain old weakness and malnutriton/lack of muscle.... still being cured...
 
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